Undo Disk Cleanup in Windows 11/10/8/7 and Restore Deleted FilesĪs the screenshot demonstrates, when I execute the Disk Cleanup for my C drive in Windows 10 1809, the Downloads folder shows up in the list, and it's checked by default.Įxcept for the downloads folder, users are likely to delete Windows ESD installation files as well, and deletion of such files may result in your computer not working properly. However, 'Downloads' in Disk Cleanup is newly introduced in version 1809 in Windows 10, and many of us are not aware of that. This is why many other Windows 10 users are facing the same accidental deletion of the Downloads folder while freeing up disk space. Mostly, the personal files and system files are not included in the option, which makes it unlikely that Disk Cleanup deletes personal files. You'll get an option to choose what to remove from your hard drive disk.
It's said about a user routinely performs Disk Cleanup to free up disk space, and he has done it probably hundreds of times, but this time he did not pay attention to the 'Downloads folder, and he deleted it.Īccording to the official explanation of Microsoft, Disk Cleanup is a utility used to free up disk space by deleting temporary files, junk files, and many other unnecessary files. This is a snippet picked from the Reddit forum.
"Disk Cleanup deleted my Downloads folder which contained 5 years' worth of personal files and pictures.